Torpedo for blasting purposes



G. E. GELIVI.

TOHPEDO FOR BLASTING PURPOSES.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25| 1921. meeeee,

Patented Feb. 14., 1922..

GEORGE E. GELM, 0F JAMESTOWN, NEW 1w,

Specification of Letters Patent.

TORPEDO FOR BLASTING PURPOSM.

Patented Feb. Ml, 31922.

Application filed March 25, 1921. Serial No. 455,677.

T o all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, GEORGE E. GELM, a citizen of the United States, ofJamestown, county of Chautauqua, State of N ew York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Torpedoes for Blasting Pun poses;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to improvements in torpedoes moreespecially for use in blasting or shooting oil or gas bearing sands orother strata encountered in drilling or boring wells for petroleum orgas, or for artesian wells, or mining, or other purposes, in which anexplosive charge is required of comparatively great length and narrowcross section. In boring wells of the character described the diameterof the bore is necessarily very limited, being ordinarily a few inchesonly, generally about live or six inches more or less, and in order tosecure the desired e'ect of the explosion a considerable weight of highexplosive must be used.

Since the diameter of the container for the charge must necessarilyl besomewhat less than the diameter of the bore of the well it becomesnecessary, if the desired weight of high explosive is to be used, tomakethe charge very long, varying under conditions from say twenty tothirty feet or more; the explosive charge being in the form either of asolid column or a series of segments forming a built-up column. If sucha long column of high explosive is exploded from the top, as in theordinary practice, the upper portion only of the charge would bedetonated, and the lower portion is blown away and is consumed rather byquick combustion than by detonation; the result being that with theapparatus now generally in use there is a limit to the efiiciency ofcharges of this character dependent more or' less u on the length of thecharge relative to the dlameter of the same, and the desired results arenot satisfactorily secured by merely increasing the amount of the chargeby lengthening the column of. high explosive.

According to my inventlon I prov1de a torpedo of great length' comparedto 1ts diameter, and containlng a column of high explosive, which columnis provided wlth a small central bore, which bore is filled with abooster or primer charge of such material as may be instantaneouslydetonated throughout its length, and thereby transmitting .the explosionto the surrounding charge of high explosive, detonatingthe same andcausing the entire mass of high explosive contained in the torpedo, bythe instantaneous detonation mum explosive effect 1n the conined area.

The booster charge may be exploded electrlcally or mechanically in anyconvenient way.

My invention will be more clearly understood after reference to theaccompanying drawings, which are typical of the various constructionsproposed, and in which like parts are indicated by similar referencesymbols. throughout the several views.

Figure l shows a section through a pair of superposed torpedoes, eachcontaining an integral main charge with a central booster charge fordetonating the same, the lower torpedo being shown in dotted lines, andthe booster charge for the upper torpedo being arranged to be ignited byelectricity, parts being broken away.

Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure l, except that the explosive columnin a single casing is made up of a series of cylindrical sections.

Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure l, except that a mechanicalarrangement for igniting the booster charge is provided, and thecontainer is shown with a bail for use in lowering same and with apointed tip at the base; and

Figure 4 is the top of Figure 3, both the main charge and the boostercharge being omitted to more clearly show the construction of the parts.

Referring first to Figure 1, A represents the container which isreferably .in the form of a cylindrical casing` made of thin material ofsufiicient strength and rigidity to hold a long column of high explosiveB, which is placed therein in any convenient way as by being cast,molded or packed therein. ln order to conveniently form a bore in thismass, a central rod may be projected through the centre while the maincharge B is being put in place, and this rod is removed leaving acentral perforation C, the walls of which may be coated in any withindesired limits an enlarged sectional view ofl convenient way, ifdesired, or left as they stand.

The bottom of the casing A is closed by the bottom plate E, which may beprovi-ded with a central opening e, and this opening may be closed by asmaller plate e, which plate may be on either the inside or outside ofplate E.

The object of said hole e is that by removing or puncturing plate e thetwo exposed ends of the booster charge'contained in superposed casingsare brought into communication. VThis occurs when two or lmore torpedocasings are used end to end Vto form a longer charge, than where asingle casing is used. Such an arrangement is shown in dotted lines inFigure l.

The upper ortion of the bore C is preferably expan ed, as at C', to forman enlarged head or chamber for the booster charge. This chamber may besurrounded with a receptacle F, circular in cross section, and providedwith a iange f adapted to be attached to the upper head H of thecontainer, which head is perforated, as at 71., to receive theleading-in wires I connected to the electric fuse or primer K.

The electricity is carrie-d down to the torpedo through the well by anysuitable cable, not shown, in the usual way.

In the modification shown in Figure 2 instead of having the main chargein each torpedo in the form of a single homogeneous column, the colmn isdivided up into a series of sections B', each of which is centrallyperforated, as at C, and these perforations are filled with a boostercharge D. These sections may be rplaced directly one upon the other ormay be separated from each other by disk-shaped partitions such as b.These disks may be of such material as to be perforated in the centre bythe force of the explosion when the booster charge D is exploded, orthey may be punctured or weakened at the center 72 when the sectionalcharges are inserted. It may be more convenient to assemble the chargein this way, but the essential result is the same in both cases, thatis, we have a substantially homogeneous column of high explosiveprovided with a centrally disposed detonating charge which extendsthrough the axis of the cylindrical column.

In the form shown in Figures 3 and 4, the main charlge may be eitherhomogeneous, as shown at or built u in sections as shown at Bf inAFigure 2. he central column of detonating material is shown asterminating near the bottom E of the casing A, but it may be carried allthe way through as shown in the former figures. In this form of thedevice I have shown a bail L for convenience in lowering the tor edodown in the well, and the conical tip to facilitate guiding the lowerend of the torpedo as it passes down in the well. This tip may be leftempty as shown, or filled with suitable explosive.

Since it may be inconvenient, especially in shooting deep wells, to leadan electric cable down to the torpedo for the purpose of operating thedetonator, I may provide a mechanical arrangement for detonating thebooster charge, such as is shown in detail in Fig. 4, in which Frepresents achamber which includes the upper portion of the boostercharge as shown in Fig. 3, and into this chamber the detonator Kprojects which is carried by the screw holder K2, carried by the lowerend of the sleeve P which is secured into the socket h in the head H.

The holder K2 carries a detonator K', the head of lwhich is adaptedto bestruck by the iiring pin fn. carried by the lower end of the plunger N,which plunger is normally held in the safety position in the sleeve I bymeans of the shear pin O. The detonator is held in the holder by meansof a screw-threaded ring Ico. This plunger N carries a disk-shaped headN which is adapted to be struck by the point of some fixed object,'suchas the well known go devil which, when dropped into the well, willstrike said head and will drive the plunger N down, shearing the safetypin O and exploding the detonator K.

It will be noted that the sleeve P and the parts carried thereby may bekept separate from. the torpedo and only put in place just before thetorpedo is lowered into the well. The bushing h may be 'covered by anysuitable -cap or covering, not shown, which may be removed when it isdesired to screw the sleeve P in place. Y

It will be obvious that the operation of the device will be the samewhether the torpedo be exploded electrically or mechanically, or whetherused singly or in grou s.

The charge of main explosive may loe molded, or packed or shaped in eachtorpedo in any convenient way, and the same is true of this charge whenmade up in the form of sections as shown in Fig. 2. The booster chargedetonating the main. charge may also be molded, packed or placed inposition in any convenient way. The booster charge is to be detonated bya primer or detonator which is normally kept separate fromthe torpedoand only inserted just prior to the use of the same.

In order to secure the factor of safety which is so important in devicesof this character, I prefer to use those high explosives which are notof the sensitive nature, such, for instance, as trintrotoluene.

For the main explosivev charge I use trithose other nitro aromaticcompounds, trinitronapthalene, trinitroaniline, andlhexanitrodiphenylamine, or other suitable high explosive compound.

For the booster charge I use trinitrotoluene (TNT-granular-of a densityof about 1.0); hexanitrodiphenylamineg trinitrophenylmethylnitramine ortetryl tetranitroaniline, or other suitable booster compound.

The booster charge may be exploded by l a detonator containing fulminateof mercury, lead azide, or the like, and said detonator may be operatedeither electrically or mechanically, or in any other suitable Way. v

The above described arrangement of the main and'booster charges willpermit the efficient employment of a type of explosives, formed in longcylindrical charges, that can be handled and transported With safety,and Which can be stored for long periods under extreme temperaturesWithout deterioration. U

vIt will be noted that with all forms of the device all portions of themain charge 4 of high explosive are within a short distance of thecentral booster charge, and this booster charge should be of such acomposition that its detonation throughout its length will beinstantaneous, causing the surrounding particles of the main charge tobe also instantaneously detonated so that there is no question of partonly of the long column of high explosive being detonated and the restburned, but there lis a complete detonati'on simultaneously of all theparts of the main charge, with the vastly more effective result obtainedin the confined space in the Well where the explosion occurs. l

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in theherein described construction, and in the combination and arrangement ofparts which could be used without departing from the spirit of myinvention; and I do not mean t0 limit the invention to such details.except as partie ularly pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention what l claim and desire to secure byLetters Patcnt of the United States is 1. A torpedo for blastingpurposes, com'- prising an elongated cylindrical casing closed at bothends, a'main charge of high explosive contained' in said casing, saidmain charge. being provided with an axial perforation therein, and achamber at the upper end of said perforation, a booster charge fillingsaid perforation and said chamber, a detonator for said booster chargeprojecting into said chamber, and means for actuating said detonator,substantially as described.

2., A torpedo for blasting purposes, comprising an elongated cylindricalcasing closed at'both ends, a main charge of high explosive contained insaid casing; said main charge being provided with an axial perforationtherein, and a chamber at the upper end of said perforation, a boostercharge filling said perforation and said chamber, a detonator mounted insaid chamber, and means operable from a distance for actuating saiddetonator, substantially as described. j

3. A torpedo for blasting purposes, comprising an elongated cylindricalcasing closed at both ends, a main charge of high explosive contained insaid casing, and composed of a series of cylindrical sections, eachsection of said main charge being provided With an axial perforationtherein, and. the upper section being provided With a chambersurrounding the upper end of said perforation, a booster charge fillingthe perforation in each section and also filling said chamber, adetonatorafor said booster charge projecting into said chamber, andmeans for actuating said detonator, substantially as described. Y

4. A torpedo for blasting purposes, comprising an elongated cylindricalcasing closed at both ends, a main charge of high i GEORGE E. GELM.

